Developer of Lincoln Yards, a $6 billion political football, may score TIF funds for North Side project

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune

A wall along Cortland Street in the area of the proposed Lincoln Yards project shows a rendering of the development site on Jan. 22, 2019, in Chicago. A vote on Feb. 19, 2019, supported using $900 million in tax increment financing for infrastructure.

A wall along Cortland Street in the area of the proposed Lincoln Yards project shows a rendering of the development site on Jan. 22, 2019, in Chicago. A vote on Feb. 19, 2019, supported using $900 million in tax increment financing for infrastructure. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Developer Sterling Bay, which once envisioned a soccer stadium at Lincoln Yards before the proposed megaproject itself became a political football, has moved closer to scoring $1.3 billion in public funds to create new infrastructure around the North Side property.

The Community Development Commission’s 10-0 vote Tuesday supporting creation of the Cortland/Chicago River TIF district is the latest setback for aldermen and other opponents who have sought to put decisions about the property’s zoning and financing on hold until after the upcoming city elections.

The decision by the mayor-appointed panel, which was expected, would provide as much as $900 million in tax increment financing toward new roads, bridges and public transportation on and around the Lincoln Yards site. The city also could provide up to $400 million in tax-exempt bonds or notes to help fund those infrastructure costs, running the potential tab to as high as $1.3 billion.

The TIF district and the overall Lincoln Yards plan still must be approved by other committees before a full City Council vote. But Sterling Bay appears well on its way toward kicking off one of the biggest developments ever drawn up on the North Side, with the backing of outgoing mayor Rahm Emanuel and 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins.

Hopkins acknowledged Lincoln Yards is so large and complicated that it will never please all constituents. Yet he stressed Wednesday that there’s no reason to delay moving forward on a multibillion-dollar investment.

He pointed to Amazon’s recent decision to pull the plug on a planned 25,000-employee campus in New York after the company encountered strong opposition from local leaders.

“There’s nothing waiting in the wings to fill that void,” Hopkins said. “If we’re not going to support Lincoln Yards, what do we have in its place? Given how far were are into a growth cycle, it’s likely that if we don’t approve Lincoln Yards, we won’t see anything happen there in some time.”

Infrastructure improvements are needed immediately, and there are companies looking to relocate jobs to Chicago, he said. Sterling Bay has a track record of landing relocations, including McDonald’s move from Oak Brook to Chicago’s Fulton Market district.

“There are numerous companies interested in moving to Chicago, and all they need is a corporate campus to put those workers on,” Hopkins said.

Lincoln Yards runs along the east and west sides of the Chicago River between North and Webster avenues. It would become part of a 168-acre TIF district also generally bordered by Clybourn and Elston avenues and Besly Court.

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune

Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, with community activists and political leaders, asks Feb. 19, 2019, that the vote on the Lincoln Yards proposal be delayed until the new Chicago mayor and City Council are elected, at City Hall in Chicago.

Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, with community activists and political leaders, asks Feb. 19, 2019, that the vote on the Lincoln Yards proposal be delayed until the new Chicago mayor and City Council are elected, at City Hall in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

The developer has created excitement by drawing up a new city within the city, which would become home to 15 million square feet of office and residential towers, restaurants, retail and other spaces. The project will create 10,000 construction jobs over the next decade or so on the way to 24,000 long-term jobs and 6,000 homes, according to Sterling Bay.

Despite its potential for big economic growth on mostly vacant, formerly industrial land, Lincoln Yards has encountered vocal opposition to aspects of its plan including building height, the number of affordable housing units proposed, the proposed use of TIF funds and the project’s potential impact on traffic, nearby businesses and schools.

The two alderman had led the City Council’s Finance and Zoning committees, which still must weigh in on Lincoln Yards before a full City Council vote. Burke’s firm also represented Sterling Bay on Lincoln Yards properties, but the developer recently stopped using Klafter & Burke.

Before Tuesday’s TIF meeting, a group of opponents including the aldermen of two wards alongside Lincoln Yards — Michele Smith, 43rd, and Scott Waguespack, 32nd — and other aldermen and activists renewed calls to halt decisions on Lincoln Yards until after upcoming elections.

But Hopkins said there’s no reason to delay meetings led by Ald. Patrick O’Connor, 40th, and James Cappleman, 46th, who now head the City Council’s Finance and Zoning committees.

“Neither of those gentlemen have been implicated,” Hopkins said. “The opponents of Lincoln Yards are trying to implicate everyone by association. That’s unfair and dishonest.”